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Editor's Blog

By Bill Hurley


Social Media, Technology, Journalism, Education



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What the heck is happening at the State Capitol?

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Unless you follow social media, you probably don’t know a lot about what is happening at the Capitol these days. But citizen journalists with Flip cams are shedding a bright light on it.

Persistent peaceful protesters inside the Capitol are being subjected – in an almost police state atmosphere - to rigid rules about where they can go and how they can express themselves. And they are being given citations when they respectfully refuse to comply with these rules, which they believe violate their First Amendment rights.

I haven’t actually been to the Capitol for a couple weeks, so how do I know this? Two words: Social Media. Two more words: Citizen Journalists.

One of the more fascinating jobs of video reporting on this topic comes from Dane County Supervisor Melissa Sargent and her family. Melissa's husband and others recorded away as police confronted their young sons for displaying a Solidarity Forever sign on the second floor of the Capitol Rotunda. The video should alarm any Wisconsinite - or American - who respects the Constitution, as a police officer tells the children he is taking them and their parents down to the Police Station because the children held up a protest sign in the State Capitol:


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Comments  4

  • Kati 3/28/2011

    http://www.facebook.com/SenatorRisser?ref=ts&sk=wall#!/event.php?eid=174773192573296&index=1

    Massive Capitol 'Sign In' tomorrow.  Check it out.

  • myers 3/28/2011

    these gestapo tactics need to be recorded and an aclu lawyer needs to take these cases and pursue them, and always to intimidate the cops always ask for their name and their badge number write them down on paper , that usually makes them back down.

  • Peter Rhoades 3/28/2011

    I was in the Capitol building early last Friday, March 25. I had come with my sign with  plans to do a bit of demonstrating. On the State DOJ website there are specific guidelines on where people entering the Capitol must go. I entered through the doors identified as open to visitors and was put through the current search procedures: empty your pockets, get wanded, thanks! Capitol employees and legislators have other options for entry without the search. What was interesting to me was that it appeared not all visitors were put through the same screening. As I walked my circuits around the rotunda I'm quite sure that some "visitors" were being allowed through other entrances if accompanied by a Legislator or other person with ID. I'm just curious but are there two classes of visitor currently being allowed into the Capitol building and how do I get into the no search class?

  • Gene Park 3/27/2011

    Walker's Gestapo in action! When will he set up concentration camps? Walker has turned the Constitution into used toilet paper.
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